On another board someone suggested screen protectors so I guess they are just super-cautious? Do you or others have any more thoughts on that?

Yes, my thoughts are that what is needed/unneeded is a personal opinion. What SOME people think is needed is not necessarily the same as what other people think is needed. YOUR opinions may end up being different than either of the opinions already shown above.

I don't use cases as I think they add "unneeded" bulk to the phone. I DO however use screen protectors. This is an example of how what I think is needed is different than bearone21's views.